The Most Glorious Return
by Dave Sek
Summary: Willow's descent into darkness resurrected her worst nightmare, and now she alone can stop the mighty Glory.
1. The Most Glorious Return

This story is set between seasons 6 and 7. Instead of returning to England with Giles, Willow went into hiding.  
  
hr  
  
Buffy gaped at the figure before her. Her greatest adversary stood right before her eyes. "It can't be," Buffy gasped.  
  
"It is," Glory smiled.  
  
They had heard on the news that some woman was causing major havoc in downtown Sunnydale, but never in a million years would Buffy have guessed it would be the Hellgod looking for revenge. After the pounding Glory had taken, Buffy hoped she had left town intending to never come back. Clearly that wasn't the case, and she muttered a prayer to herself hoping that her last victory wasn't just a fluke.  
  
Glory charged forward, and the fight began. Glory easily blocked Buffy's blows. Buffy wasn't so lucky, as Glory was able to connect with an uppercut to the jaw. Buffy flew into the wall behind her, which cracked from the blow as Buffy fell to the ground.  
  
Xander fired a crossbow bolt at Glory, which just bounced off her side. She turned to him, a look of frustration splashed across her face. "Didn't you already learn your little toy is useless against me?"  
  
Glory started toward Xander, but the air rippled in front of her, and Glory found herself face to face with a demon. Glory stopped in her tracks, more surprised than anything, and looked at her.  
  
"Don't I know you?" Glory asked Anya. "Since when are you a demon?"  
  
Not waiting for an answer, Glory landed a roundhouse that sent Anya flying back into Xander, causing the ex-lovers to fall to the ground in a heap. Buffy watched as Anya climbed to her feet, but Xander was unconscious.  
  
"Anya, get out of here!" Buffy shouted. "Tell Dawn to get to safety!"  
  
"But." Anya started.  
  
"Just do it!"  
  
Without another word, the air around Anya rippled and she teleported away. Glory turned back towards Buffy, a grin spread across her face.  
  
"The one person here who actually stands a chance against me, and you send her away?" she laughs. "And to protect the Key? Newsflash, Princess: the Key is useless now. This isn't about returning home. This is about causing serious pain."  
  
Glory started towards Buffy, who by now had managed to climb to one knee, when the sky turned an ominous shade of black. Glory stopped in her tracks, looking around to see what was causing the commotion. Buffy caught sight of the new arrival before the God did.  
  
"Willow."  
  
Sure enough, levitating above the unconscious Xander was Willow. She was dressed all in black. Even from this far away, Buffy could tell from her black eyes that she was fueled by the dark magicks. Buffy noticed that Willow's hair was still red, and she hoped that meant her friend was in control.  
  
"Ooh, the witch," Glory remarked. "Where's your girlfriend? What I did to her before will look like a picnic once I'm through with her.  
  
Instead of answering verbally, Willow responded with a blast of purple lightning. Glory screamed in agony as Willow continued the assault. Unfortunately, Willow was no longer at full power. She feared ever being that powerful again, after what happened the last time. She was forced to relent the lightning. The God was down on one knee.  
  
"You're more powerful than last time," Glory noted as she climbed to her feet. "But so am I."  
  
Glory proceeded towards the Wiccan, who managed to fire one more blast of lightning. This time, she aimed higher. Glory looked up just in time to see a section of the roof crumbling down on top of her.  
  
Buffy and Willow rushed to Xander's side. He opened his eyes, moaned, and then returned to unconsciousness. "He'll be fine," Willow commented. "He just needs rest."  
  
"How could you continue to use the magicks?" Buffy asked her. "After what you did, what you tried to do.How could you?"  
  
"I sensed that Glory had returned to town," Willow told her. "She's even stronger than she was last time. I knew you couldn't defeat her on her own. The magic, it was the only way."  
  
Before Buffy could question her friend any further, they heard another moan, this time from behind them. They saw a hand sticking out from the remains of the roof, only the hand was far hairier than that of Glory's. Buffy rushed over to help while Willow used her powers to lift some of the debris up. Buffy bent down and picked up an injured Giles.  
  
"Giles, when did you get here?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Right after Willow showed up," he answered. "I was behind Glory when the roof collapsed."  
  
"I was so caught up in the fight, I didn't even notice you. Thank God you're okay," Buffy said. Then she turned to Willow. "Do you see what happened? Your magic nearly killed Giles."  
  
Willow didn't respond. Something wasn't right here. She knew for a fact that Giles hadn't been in the room a few seconds earlier. She could sense the life force of everyone around her; even if she hadn't seen Giles, she would have sensed him. That meant only one thing. She didn't know how it was possible, but there was only one explanation.  
  
Glory was Giles.  
  
hr  
  
To be continued.  
  
This is the first time I've contributed to this site, so I apologize if I did something wrong! 


	2. An Explanation of Sorts

Buffy barged into her house, followed shortly by first Giles (carrying the unconscious Xander) and then Willow. Willow's eyes had returned to their normal color, but she was by no means unprepared to access her powers should the need arrive. Anya was sitting on the couch, so involved in a rerun of "Gilligan's Island" that she didn't even notice the arrival of her friends.  
  
"He is in no way a cheapskate!" Anya shouted at the TV when the professor made a crass remark towards the millionaire. "He's practically a genius. I bet he'll figure a way off that island long before you do, Professor McMoron."  
  
"Anya, where's Dawn?" Buffy called out.  
  
Anya spun around, putting her game face on. Once she realized she wasn't under attack, her face returned to that of her human self. "Once I got Dawn to safety, I thought it best if I returned here in case you needed me," she replied as she turned the television off (obviously, the millionaire was being made to look like a bad guy in that particular episode. The problem with fiction, Anya thought to herself, is that it's so unbelievable.)  
  
"And where is Dawn now?"  
  
"The one place Glory will never look," Anya responded. "Wal-Mart." At that moment, Anya caught site of the unconscious Xander slumped across Giles shoulders! "Xander!" she cried.  
  
She ran over and took Xander off Giles's shoulder and placed him on her own. Buffy couldn't help but notice how Giles had been straining under Xander's weight, while Anya acted like he was no heavier than a pillow. She gently placed him on the sofa.  
  
"He still hasn't awakened?"  
  
"He woke once, but he went back to sleep," Buffy remarked. "His ribs were broken, but," she stopped and glanced at Willow, who was staring intently at Giles. "He's better now."  
  
"But how?" Anya asked. "The doctors couldn't have repaired them that fast. They don't have that kind of power." Anya stopped, and then she too shot a glance at Willow. Anya looked back at Buffy, and Buffy nodded her head in approval. "That can't be good," Anya remarked.  
  
"I've got it under control," Willow remarked. Buffy was surprised Willow had even realized they were talking, the way she was so focused on the back of Giles's head.  
  
"That's what you said when you nearly killed us," Buffy snapped. "I thought you realized you can't."  
  
"Desist!" Willow remarked, waving her hand at Buffy. Buffy's mouth continued to move, but no words were coming out. Buffy looked at Willow with a look of horror on her face, causing Willow to regret her actions. She waved her hand again, allowing Buffy to once again speak. "Sorry," she apologized.  
  
"Do you see why I can't trust you?!" Buffy shouted. "We haven't been home for two minutes, and you've already cast a spell on me!"  
  
"Buffy, perhaps you and Anya should head out and patrol," Giles suggested. "Should Glory manage to escape the wreckage, it would be best if you two were there to prevent her from doing any more damage. Willow and I will look after Xander in the meantime, and join you once he's better."  
  
"That sounds like a good idea," Buffy responded. Shooting a glance at Willow, she replied, "I don't think I can stand to be here right now, anyway." With that, Buffy was out of the house. Anya looked uncertainly from Giles to Willow to Xander before teleporting out.  
  
Giles turned to Willow. From the look he was giving her, Willow knew he knew she knew. Despite the fact he was far less powerful than Buffy or Anya, he wasn't looking at her out of fear like they had been. He was looking at her as an equal. She could sense that he was no longer fueled by the Coven's magicks, which meant there was something else boosting his confidence. The power of a God.  
  
"How'd you do it?" she asked. She knew she didn't have to explain what she meant. They were both adults here.  
  
"When Ben died," Giles started.  
  
"Ben's dead?"  
  
"Of course," Giles remarked. "Do you really think Glory would have stayed away so long had she seen capable of returning? When Ben died, Glory was forced to jump to the nearest body."  
  
"Like Eyghon," Willow remarked.  
  
"Precisely. The only difference was Glory didn't need a dead or unconscious body. She just needed a body, so she jumped into the closest one."  
  
"You?" Willow asked. Then she put the pieces together. "You killed Ben?"  
  
"It was the only way," Giles remarked. "Buffy couldn't do it. You couldn't do it, at least not at that point in time." With that, Giles gave a grin. His remark twisted Willow's stomach in knots, but she kept quiet. "I had to do it, in order to save the world. Only I never dreamed that Glory would make a dash into my body.  
  
"Of course, I realized what had happened right away," Giles continued. "She was far too weak to make a comeback at first, so I didn't worry about it. But I could feel her growing in strength, every second of every day. That's why I left Sunnydale; to return to England to use the Counsel's knowledge to learn a way to keep Glory suppressed. Or, even better, to harness her power for myself."  
  
"The Coven," Willow remarked.  
  
"Very good," Giles smiled. "I went to the Coven long before your attempt at destruction. I tried to convince them to help me keep Glory hidden inside. They refused. They opted to perform a spell, to cast Glory from my body and banish her from this dimension. That was unacceptable."  
  
"And so you killed them?"  
  
"It was the only way, really," Giles went on. "How could I be sure Glory wouldn't find a way back, even if we did banish her? The only way was to keep her inside, and the only way I could do that was to use their power for myself. And the only way to do that."  
  
"I get it," Willow interrupted. "But Glory's back. She found a way around your magic."  
  
"I returned to Sunnydale in an effort to stop you from destroying us all," the Watcher remarked. "I knew that by allowing you to drain me, it would enable you to feel your human emotions. It would enable you to take control and stop your actions. But I also knew that without the magicks, I would be unable to keep Glory away."  
  
"But if that's the case, why has Glory only just now appeared?" Willow asked. "It's been two weeks. What happened?"  
  
"I wasn't as weakened as I allowed you to think," Giles said. "I told Anya to warn Buffy and Dawn that I was near death, but the truth was I needed her out of the way to find a potion I kept hidden behind the counter. The Dagon Elixir."  
  
"From the Dagon Sphere?" Willow asked. "But I thought that was destroyed!"  
  
"It was shattered, not destroyed," Giles explained. "After Glory entered my body, I collected the pieces should I need them. If the Sphere weakened Glory when she touched it; now after having drank it, it allows me to control her powers."  
  
"But why would you do that?" Willow asked. "And why the attack on Buffy? What happened to you?"  
  
"Buffy never should have been resurrected," Giles responded. "I told you, you were foolish for having brought her back. She'll never be happy on this planet, not after experiencing a taste of heaven. It's in her own best interest, and it's in the best interest of the natural order of things, to send her back to heaven where she belongs."  
  
"But," Willow started.  
  
"Enough talk!" Giles shouted. And with that, he was Glory once more.  
  
hr  
  
To be continued. 


	3. To Kill the Slayer

Before Willow could prepare for another spell, Glory was upon her. Grabbing the witch by the throat, the blonde god pinned Willow against the wall. "I don't want to hurt you, Willow," Glory said, "but I will if you get in my way." With that, Glory slung Willow across the room into the wall, and was gone.  
  
Willow quickly climbed to her feet. Glory's throw hadn't been meant to kill; at the most, it was intended to knock her out. Willow had grown enough in strength where she could manage various spells without an incantation; thankfully she increased her ability to take damage while in motion, enabling her to take the blow with no harm done save a minor backache.  
  
She was scared of what was to come. While the voice had been Glory's, the words were from Giles. That meant this wasn't an air headed bimbo running around with a god's powers; it was Giles, the smartest man Willow had ever come across. She wasn't sure if there was anything on earth that could stop him from getting what he wanted.  
  
There was only one thing Willow was sure of. She would stop Giles from killing Buffy, or she would die trying. After everything Willow had done, she owed her best friend that much.  
  
Scene change  
  
Buffy was alone in the cemetery when she heard a familiar noise behind her. It was the noise of a vampire clawing his way out of the grave. She had heard the noise several times. Mostly it was from watching vampires climb out themselves, but she had heard the noise upon her own resurrection almost a full year earlier.  
  
The vampire was dust in almost no time. Buffy watched as the creature's remains tumbled to the ground. She was so intent on demon's demise, she never heard the foot steps behind her.  
  
A hand grabbed her from behind and tossed her to the ground. Buffy spun around, a stake at the ready, but it was only Anya. "Where are you doing here?" Buffy demanded.  
  
"Checking in on you," Anya reported. "Good thing it was just me and not Glory. The way you were intent on that vampire, World War 3 could have started and you wouldn't have noticed the difference."  
  
[Anya.]  
  
The voice caught Anya completely by surprise. "What?" she asked out loud.  
  
"I didn't say anything," Buffy responded, looking at Anya quizzically.  
  
"I'm not talking to you," Anya responded. "It's Willow. What do you want?"  
  
[It's Giles. He's on his way to kill Buffy. You have to protect her.]  
  
"What? Why would Giles want to kill Buffy?"  
  
Buffy's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but she kept quiet, intent on hearing as much of this telepathic conversation as she could.  
  
[Anya, for God's sake will you quit responding verbally? All you have to do is think your responses; I can hear them.]  
  
"But that always gives me a headache!" Anya whined. "I'm not the big bad Wicca here. It's not as easy for me to talk without speaking as it is for you."  
  
[You have to protect Buffy. Giles and Glory are one and the same, and he plans on killing Buffy. He thinks she never should have been raised from the dead.]  
  
"So why are you telling me this?" Anya asked. "Buffy's right here, why don't you talk, or think, or whatever it is you do, to her?"  
  
[Because she won't be able to deal with the information. She's not a demon; Glory's protection spell will just cause her to forget. Only you and I will be able to remember the truth.]  
  
"Why you? You're not a demon."  
  
There was silence for a moment. Anya wondered if she had scared Willow off. Or maybe some attractive woman had walked by, and Willow had simply gotten distracted. Then she started to worry what would happen if Willow read her mind and got offended by what Anya was thinking; even as a vengeance demon, Anya wouldn't stand a chance against a pissed-off Willow.  
  
[Let's just say after flaying Warren, I'm in touch with the dark side now.]  
  
There was a finality to Willow's words; Anya knew the witch was up to something else at the moment. The question was, what?  
  
"What did Willow say?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Giles and Glory are one and the same, and their on their way here to kill you," Anya answered. She briefly wondered if maybe she shouldn't have told Buffy the truth, but she decided not to worry about it.  
  
"Giles is Glory? But that's impossible!" Buffy declared.  
  
"'Fraid not, sweetie."  
  
Anya and Buffy both turned to see Glory, who had entered the graveyard without either the Slayer or the Demon having heard her. Glory looked around at her surroundings and smiled.  
  
"Looks like we picked an excellent location for our fight," she remarked. "This way they won't have to carry your body far when I'm done with you."  
  
hr  
  
To be continued. 


	4. The Only Way To Kill a God

"Willow, Glory's here! What do we do?"  
  
Willow was surprised to hear Anya's voice in her head. Anya wasn't a witch and wasn't generally capable of telepathy, but somehow she was able to get through to Willow without the witch contacting her first.  
  
[Just stall her. I have a plan.]  
  
"Care to fill me in on it?" Anya asked. Willow ignored the question. She was off to Wal-Mart.  
  
Scene change  
  
Anya was teleporting in and out of Glory's way repeatedly. Every time Glory took a step, Anya was there to block her path; then when Glory swung at the demon, she was gone before the blow landed. Buffy appreciated what her friend was trying to do, but she was finding it all very irritating. She'd rather fight than hide in the background.  
  
Without even thinking, Buffy pulled a tombstone out of the ground. "Sorry," she muttered to whoever was buried underneath. She turned and concentrated on Anya and Glory, preparing for the perfect time to throw her newly found weapon. Taking a chance, she launched the tombstone and hoped that her Slayer senses had enabled her to time the throw just right.  
  
Apparently they had, as Anya teleported out of the way just in time, causing the tombstone to hit Glory right in the nose. The tombstone shattered on impact and Glory was momentarily stunned. Buffy ran in and delivered a kick to the face, which sent Glory staggering backwards. Unfortunately, Glory regained her footing far faster than Buffy had anticipated.  
  
"Now that the flea is out of the way, let's get things started," Glory remarked.  
  
Scene change  
  
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Dawn asked, clinching her eyes as the wind blew into her face. She looked down under the diesel they were traveling on and worried that one slip-up from Willow would kill the both of them.  
  
"Honestly? No," Willow admitted. "It's really dangerous and I have no idea it will work, but it's the only thing I can think of to stop Glory. It's not too late to back out if you're nervous."  
  
"Of course I'm nervous," Dawn replied, "but I'll do it. If it's the only way to save Buffy, I'll do it."  
  
Willow was thankful. The truth was she would have tried to persuade Dawn even if the youth had changed her mind. And that wouldn't have been easy, not while controlling the diesel as well. It was far harder than traveling by air, but Willow was running out of juice. If she had traveled in the sky and dropped Dawn, she doubted she would have been able to save the both of them. She only had enough energy to get to the gravesite and defeat Glory. She prayed that nothing got in the way of that.  
  
Scene change  
  
Glory had Buffy pinned against the wall of a mausoleum. Both of Buffy's hands were trying to pry Glory's hand from around her neck, but she wasn't able to succeed. Using her other hand, Glory prepared to punch Buffy's skull through the wall. Her hand stopped an inch from Buffy's face, having been caught by Anya.  
  
"You are such a pest!" Glory shrieked, batting Anya out of her way. Anya once again proved to be enough of a distraction for the Slayer to regain some balance. She managed to kick Glory away from herself, which enable Buffy to start breathing again.  
  
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Glory asked. "The only reason you're still alive is because of that annoying little ant, but it's only a matter of time before I squash her, and then there's nothing that's going to stop me from sending you back to your grave."  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."  
  
Glory turned around to see Dawn a few feet away with a sword held out in front of her. Glory laughed. "Do you really think you can hurt me with that, pipsqueak?" she asked. "I'll have that shoved down your gullet before you even got a chance to step forward."  
  
Hidden behind a grave was Willow. Glory no longer sounded like Giles, as she had back at Buffy's house. She didn't know if that was good or bad, and she couldn't worry about it. It was time to start the spell.  
  
"Goddess Hecate, hear my will," she whispered  
  
Unfortunately, her voice wasn't so low Glory couldn't hear her. Glory's head whipped right to the tombstone Willow was behind. "The witch," she said, and started to step forward, but Buffy grabbed her from behind. Glory started bucking like a bronco, trying to get the Slayer off her back, but Buffy was too strong.  
  
"There was one, but now are two," Willow continued. "One is evil, and one is true. One is a god and one is a man. Separate the mortal from the god of the damned."  
  
Buffy was thrown by off Glory's back, but not by the God's doing. A strange orange light appeared around Glory, causing her to drop to her knees and start screaming in agony. There was a sound, what sounded like ripping, and then a bright flash of light. When the light dimmed enough to see, there were now two people where the God had been; there was Glory, still on her knees, and next to her was Giles.  
  
Before anyone could respond, Glory shoved Giles to the side. Anya ran to Giles side while Glory once again started heading towards Willow, only to be cut off by Buffy. The two once again began their dance as Willow prepared another spell. Dawn rushed to her side.  
  
This spell was much different than the previous. For one thing, it wasn't in English. For another, it was more than a simple incantation. There was a sacrifice to be made. Willow handed a knife to Dawn, which the youth willingly took.  
  
"Are you sure you're willing to do this?" Willow asked once she was through with her part of the spell. Dawn merely nodded before pressing the blade into the palm of her. She winced in pain as blood began dripping from her hand. Willow threw some shimmering type of dust into the air, which started to swirl around instead of falling to the earth. It also seemed to work as a sort of magnet towards Dawn's blood. Dawn's blood flowed upwards into the dust, which now turned a bright red as a portal opened in the air.  
  
"Get away from it!" Willow shouted to Dawn, who didn't need to be told twice.  
  
Buffy and Glory were still fighting when the God caught sight of the portal. Buffy managed to land in a blow to the face before she too caught sight of the portal. "What on earth?" she wondered out loud.  
  
"You wanted to use the Key to go home?" Willow shouted at Glory. "Then fine, go home, Hellbitch!"  
  
Glory found herself being pulled towards the portal. "No!" she screamed. "Not now! Not before I kill the Slayer!" But the Fates weren't willing to listen to the voice of a God. Glory was sucked into the air and into the portal, which closed behind her.  
  
Willow fell to the ground. She was drained, but relieved. The spell had worked. Glory would never plague her or her friends again.  
  
Scene change  
  
"So tell me all the details," Xander said.  
  
"I've already told you," Willow said, growing weary of the subject. "I've told you a million times."  
  
"I know, but you know you want to keep talking about how you saved the world from the Hellgod from Dimension Bitch."  
  
"Really, I don't," Willow admitted. "After everything I've done, I'm no hero."  
  
"Come on, for me," Xander begged. "Pretty please with extra creamy goodness poured on top."  
  
"Make it clumps of sugar and you're got a deal," Willow smiled.  
  
"You've got it. So tell me what happened."  
  
Willow sighed, and began the explanation. "After Glory was defeated, she wound up getting into Giles's body. Only with the Dagon Sphere destroyed, it was quite different from when she shared bodies with Ben. It was no longer a case of two separate entities; it was now Glory in control of both their bodies. She was a sort of like a vampire; she could look and act like Giles, and she had his memories, but she was in full control.  
  
"She returned to England and destroyed some powerful Coven she feared could stop her," Willow continued. "She combined the Coven's power with her own and returned here, intending to kill us all. What she didn't realize was that I." She stopped, unwilling to summon the words. Unwilling to say that she herself had been intending to kill them when she arrived. "Of course, Glory didn't want the world to end, so she had to try to stop me. Once I defeated her and drained her of her power, she was left weakened. It took her two weeks before she was back at full power."  
  
"Now tell me about the thing with Giles explaining he was in control," Xander said. "I'm still a bit foggy in that respect."  
  
"It's really quite simple," Willow explained. "Glory was in control the whole time. She wanted to kill us all, but she was afraid she couldn't do so if we all went at her at once. Considering I had once nearly killed all of you, she thought I'd leave her alone if she promised she was only trying to kill Buffy. When my guard was down, she attacked me, but somehow Giles managed to get through so I wasn't injured."  
  
"And then she tried to kill Buffy and Anya before you and Dawn ripped her out of Giles and then sent her packing on a one-way trip to her hell dimension," Xander interrupted. "But how did you know it would work?"  
  
"I didn't," Willow admitted, "but I had faced Glory and knew we weren't going beat her. And as Dawn was the only way to open a portal to Glory's home dimension, I decided to try and see if I could do that. Thankfully it worked."  
  
Xander laughed. "Another apocalypse averted," he said. When he saw Willow look down, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't look so down," he told her. "It's in the past."  
  
She knew exactly what he was talking about. "No it's not," she said. "Buffy doesn't trust me any more. How can I ever get her to forgive me?"  
  
Xander sighed and slid a bit closer to his best friend. "There's only one way," he replied. "You have to erase her memory." At first Willow was horrified at his suggestion, but when a big goofy grin spread across his face, she couldn't help but laugh. It was no wonder she had such a crush on him before she realized she was gay; he would no doubt make somebody a fantastic husband one day.  
  
Willow wasn't sure what was going to come. She didn't know if Buffy, Dawn, Anya, or Giles would ever forgive her for the past, but at least Xander had. She had at least one friend remaining, and that was far more than she really deserved. She smiled, knowing that at least one person would always be there for her, even if she went homicidal again.  
  
Fin. 


End file.
